


Modern Lovers

by chwangdol



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: M/M, Past Prostitution, Past Rape/Non-con, alternate universe - strippers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:21:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chwangdol/pseuds/chwangdol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Changmin's a stripper with a closed up past, and Yunho's a bouncer with a thing for classic romance. Somehow they fit together like puzzle pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Modern Lovers

Yunho splashes the cold water onto his face, it doesn’t do much to wake him up or subside his headache, but it’s good enough. He can hope this place has slightly better lighting than the last one, but he knows it won’t.

He’d managed to work for the same shit hole of a strip club for two years, the longest he’d ever held a job for. They usually get too boring, the pay not good enough to stay around, but eventually a constant job search gets annoying, so he’d settled for the less than desirable job of protecting low-class strippers who got replaced after a week and always smelt of either cigarettes or alcohol.

But now he’s moved on to a new one, close enough to walk, slightly more high class, and male. Pretty boy strippers dancing for men and women alike, and Yunho isn’t sure why he’d deduced that would make his job easier. At first he’d told himself that they’d be less whiny, but he’s met many more unagreeable men than women in his life time, second reason he’d laid on himself was that he’d connect with them more, but that was highly unlikely. It finally came down to his libido being a little too interested in protecting cute boys in short shorts, thongs, and garters than the desperate for cash drug-driven middle aged women he’d dealt with previously.

Honestly he has no idea if the guys will be any different, but it seems a nicer establishment, so he’s hoping for the best.

His shift starts in two hours, and he woke up just forty-five minutes ago, disoriented with a throbbing headache. There were vague memories of stolen booze and motorcycles and Donghae or Kangin dragging him home – he really can’t remember which, and he can only hope he wasn’t involved in anything too crazy or illegal.

When he does arrive at work he refrains from any sort of ruckus – headache still only halfway gone. Introductions are short and few, and he’s soon on the job.

His post is on the west side of the building, downstairs where the tables and less private rooms are. Towards the center of the back there’s a long catwalk with a pole at the end, a short gate surrounding it. There’s an identical one on the opposite side.

It only takes a few minutes after opening for Yunho to pinpoint what the performers are catering for. All of the dancers are young looking, pretty and slim, some extremely delicate and feminine while others have a slightly more muscular build. Either way they have the classic pretty boy bottom theme going on, and the customers are exactly what Yunho’d imagine.

Mostly older men, most with wedding rings still on, most quite obviously in denial that they find men attractive, most of them looking like they’d like anything pretty as long as they could put a price tag on it. The minorities are groups of young guys that look like they might have come here as a joke and a couple nicely dressed women who watch the dancers with more dominating gazes than most of the men.

He watches the dancers saunter to the tables, sticking their asses out as the flirt up the clients, a few of them who are trained waiters taking orders of drinks. They smile with devilish glints in their eyes visible from across the room, and Yunho watches each reaction for the customers he knows will cause problems.

The night rages on and nothing goes wrong, dancers switch out on the poles, the customers drink and shout over the music, the dancers have money slipped into their shorts and garters, laughing and genuinely looking happy to be performing for the spectators. It’s different from the last club he worked at in that he can’t tell who actually does.

It’s towards the middle of his shift when his eyes meet with one of the dancers. It’s happened a million times but usually it’s a blank stare or a flirty eyelash flutter. This time he gets a quizzical stare. One with large brown eyes that kind of sparkle, outlined in smudged smoky eyeliner that paired with the makeup highlighting his cheek bones gives him a god-like look.

He walks with swaying hips, a customer trailing behind him. The quizzical look drops when he nods towards one of  the closet-sized rooms barely covered in a curtain. Yunho nods at him and steps a little closer to the semi-private rooms. He’d lost count how many times he’d have to pry a dude off some poor dancer in one of the rooms, the guy getting way too carried away or thinking his money was worth a little more. Yunho hopes this place will be a little more sane.

To his relief nothing happens; the dancer and customer leave, the dancer looking much more composed than the poor man still staring at the dancer’s legs and his ass clad in leather shorts that don’t do well covering his cheeks as he walks.

His first night finishes without any excitement, and Yunho walks home at a leisurely pace, stopping at a 24-hour market to pick up some groceries, eyeing the shelves of cigarettes at the register and giving in by the time he puts his basket on the counter.

The next morning he gets a late start, rolling out of his bed with a blanket still wrapped around him as he goes about his “morning” routine, grimacing when he remembers what day it is. With a groan and short grumble of “fuck laundry,” to his bored looking goldfish sitting on a side table he finally gets dressed.

Surprisingly the laundromat is exceptionally empty, and Yunho goes through a quick internal struggle deciding if it’d be more awkward to use the machines no ones around or stay around one of the other customers. He finally settles to use the machines opposite a young man with messy black hair and an oversized grey hoodie. They’re close to a few chairs and the guy seems a little less creepy than the old lady starring at her machines with a ferocious glare.

And then Yunho regrets everything when the guy’s starring at him the moment he’s started his washing machine. Yunho looks up with a neutral expression, not wanting to pick a fight or even risk offending anyone right now. He just wants to do his laundry.

“May I help you?” he asks, forcing away any sarcasm or annoyment.

“Have you always done your laundry today?” he asks, soft but curt.

Yunho shakes his head lazily, “Nah,” he answers, and he swears he sees a flicker of annoyance in the man’s eyes at his casual speak. It almost makes Yunho’s mouth quirk into a smile, “I used to use my neighbor’s machine but he moved away last weak.”

The man nods, and Yunho finally focuses a bit more on his appearance. His hair is halfway between curly and straight, yet not quite wavy, that would be too controlled. He looks like he’s just rolled out of bed, but his skin looks perfect like it’s done with makeup by professionals, and eyes seem awake enough, large and doe-like in the way they move. Yunho swears he’s seen him before.

“Did we,” he begins, and takes a pause to study him a bit more, “Did we go to school together?”

To his surprise the stranger nods at once, “Yeah. You dropped out your senior year. Yunho, right?”

Yunho nods, “And you… you were 2 grades lower than me, right? You were really good at English and that shit, used to tutor all the time in the library.”

The stranger nods again, “I’m Changmin. Don’t think you ever knew that.”

Yunho laughs a bit, “Nah, your smartness really pissed me off. I remember my friends always tried to get me to take you as a tutor, but I never would. Hurt my pride too much.”

Changmin laughs a little in return, “Yeah, I recognized you last night.”

Yunho blinks at that, tries to think of what he means. The mart or on his way home because surely not the club, but then he remembers those quizzical eyes of the stripper in the leather shorts, and his mouth forms an o. All he can do is nod now, and Changmin tilts his head with an annoyed expression at his bafflement.

“You’re,” he starts, and has to stop just to take a breath, “You’re a stripper now?”

Changmin nods as if it’s the most nonchalant and expected thing in the world, and Yunho’s eyebrows furrow, “But you were so smart and so nice and behaved and you could have gotten into a super nice university, got a really nice job, been successful.”

He looks up at Changmin, and he looks like he’s more in sympathy for Yunho than in pain from his words, “I make a pretty decent living,” he tells him, as if that solves everything and makes everything okay, and Yunho really just wants to grab his head and make him see why it’s a bigger deal than that.

“But you’re like two steps away from being a prostitute,” he adds on, and this time Changmin’s demeanor changes. He seems lost on what to say or do as he stares at Yunho.

His mouth opens and then it closes again, and then he looks directly down at Yunho’s still unwashed pile of clothes, “The man who’s washing a cheetah print thong comes here to judge my life decisions!” he announces, and Yunho’s grateful to all extremes that the only other occupant of the laundromat is the old lady who doesn’t seem to care one bit about their conversation.

Yunho shoves it under a few heavier clothes at once and gives a glare to Changmin, “It’s not a thong they’re bikini… briefs.”

Changmin’s look is unimpressed by the quick explanation, “It’s a thong.”

Yunho shakes his head, “It’s not a string.”

“Still a thong.”

Yunho looks away in defiance and anger, “Well you would know wouldn’t you? It’s your profession to know these things.”

Changmin scoffs, “And it’s yours to stare at them all night.”

Yunho rolls his eyes at his comeback, and he pretends like he’s doing the mature thing and avoiding the fight, showing that he doesn’t need the last word, but really he just can’t think of anything witty enough to come back with.  He finishes loading up the rest of his laundry and turns away from Changmin, glancing over his shoulder to see Changmin with a purple DS in his hands of all things, tapping away at it as if he wasn’t just arguing with an acquaintance just moments before. As if he hadn’t been shaking his ass for middle-aged men the night before.

As he’s leaving Yunho has half the mind to apologize, but he can’t bring himself to be that mature and nice. He’ll see Changmin tonight; he can apologize then.

Shockingly enough he actually doesn’t see Changmin that night. His eyes skirt over both sides of the club for him, but his search is pointless. It would seem that the man isn’t there.

The next night he comes a few minutes earlier, awkwardly standing around the dressing rooms for the dancers, he catches Changmin coming out.

“Hey, Changmin,” he begins, and Changmin raises his perfectly sculpted eyebrows at him, “I’m, ugh, sorry about the other day.”

“It’s alright,” comes his answer, and he’s about to say something else before Yunho cuts him off.

“No, really. I was extremely out of line, and I didn’t actually mean any of it. I was just shocked. So, ugh… Let me take you out to eat sometime? Dinner, lunch, or breakfast, or whatever.”

Changmin’s eyes flicker to the floor and then back up to Yunho, “It’s completely okay, I was never really angry. I get that from just about anyone I knew back then. But, about the food. Let me take you out, then it’s a date and not a pitiful repent,” he lets out the beginning of a laugh at the end of that statement, and Yunho smiles a bit at the eloquence laced in awkward, “We could go out on Thursday. For dinner,” he says this much quieter, and walks forward a bit before spinning around to give a quick forgotten statement, “And it’s Peach at work by the way.”

Yunho announces the date to his goldfish the moment he gets home that night, a shit-eating grin on his face as he gets ready for bed.

Thursday comes a little quicker than Yunho’s ready for, and before he knows it he’s sitting across from Changmin, in a simple sweater and tight jeans. Hair nicely styled and overall much more put together than  the first time they met outside of the club, but it’s still a little odd to see Changmin doned in casual clothing and no makeup.

“It’s so different to see you like this,” Yunho admits, he’s never been so blunt and honest, usually he sugarcoats everything with dates, talks them up in the best way possible to get them in bed. But with Changmin it’s different, he feels like being blunt and honest is the only way he can talk with Changmin. The man sees too easily through lies and fumbles. Besides, he wants more than just to get Changmin in bed. He wants to get to know him, to be friends and if all goes well something more. For the first time in a very long time he can look at someone and see that cheesy old-movie style love story he’s always wanted.

Changmin nods, “I can understand that,” he agrees, “You don’t really look much different than when you’re working.”

Yunho laughs a little, “These are a pair of pants I wear to work actually.”

“Explains everything,” Changmin says in a joking manner, “Though it is weird to see you in color.”

“Yeah, I decided to get adventurous and wore a sweater with red on it.”

“Impressive,” Changmin jokes again, and it does manage to make Yunho smile.

The food comes and they’re silent for a bit.

“It’s actually been quite a long time since I’ve done this,” Changmin tells him after taking a sip of his drink.

“What? Been on a date?”

Changmin nods and his tongue runs over his teeth with his lips closed, they part for a moment for Changmin to run it over his bottom lip, and Yunho gets a little entranced by the action before Changmin starts speaking again, “Yeah,” he admits, “A few years really. So I’m sorry if I’m a little awkward.”

Yunho blinks at him and shakes his head, “You aren’t awkward at all, don’t worry. Besides, you do this all the time at work.”

He regrets the words as they leave his mouth, but luckily Changmin doesn’t seem too offended by them.

“Flirting up random guys while flaunting my body is different, Yunho,” Changmin laughs out, “As is flirting up random guys in bars and clubs in case you’re wondering if I’ve been completely devoid of any actual sexual relationships for a few years. For one I’m not flirting you up, and no offence or anything but I don’t really want you in my bed tonight. And you’re not paying me. This is just normal date. With feelings and that shit.”

“Well then just don’t question yourself too much,” Yunho advises, and he can see the uncertainty in Changmin’s eyes, wondering if he should’ve even brought it up, “You’re fine,” he adds on, and he wonders how someone who seems so confident in barely anything, sauntering around hungry-eyed men and laughing like he owns the world can  turn into this the moment he’s alone with a guy.

Not that Yunho minds. He thinks the over-analyzing and the way he starts to swallow a little too loudly and obviously realizes it are charming in their own way. Especially knowing what he can turn into given the right circumstances. He’s determined to see the same confidence he has as a stripper come out when they’re like this.

“So what’d you do after leaving high school?” Changmin asks, a little shakily, as if Yunho’s momentarily silence as he gaged up Changmin made him even more nervous.

“Odd jobs,” he tells him, “Then went to the army young, got out and did some more odd jobs. I had training in hapkido which made me qualified for a few more jobs then most, and eventually one of those jobs led to some actual although kind of shady security training and that’s how I became a bouncer.”

Changmin nods, “So you’ve done pretty well on your own then,” he summarizes.

“Guess so. It’s been sort of day-to-day living, but it’s alright. It’s more exciting that way.”

Changmin laughs at that. Yunho doesn’t know why it’s so funny but he smiles anyways because Changmin’s laugh goes through his entire body when it’s genuine, and his eyes crinkle and his gums show. Overall it’s adorable and completely different than the Changmin he sees laughing at the club.

“What about you?” Yunho asks, and Changmin’s eyes drop to the table when he does, “How’d you end up at the club?”

“It’s a long story,” Changmin answers, not meeting Yunho’s eyes, “Probably best told another time.”

Yunho nods and doesn’t bring it up for the rest of the night; he can notice a touchy subject when it’s right in front of him.

\--

Yunho tries not to let his new relationship get in the way of work, but he does find his eyes being uncontrollably drawn to Changmin as the man flaunts himself. He attempts to not let any jealousy come forward when Changmin gives public lap dances or men request a more private performance, and he really does well. Except for Friday nights when Changmin tells him in a nonchalant manner he’s strictly champagne room for the night, and Yunho really wishes he could be up there, his ear pressed against the door making sure everything stays in line with the rules, in line with what Changmin wants.

The second time they meet at the laundromat, Yunho walks Changmin home, claiming he already had something he needed to do this way, but really he just wants more time to talk to Changmin, more time to look at him in his casual and messy attire. When they get to his apartment door, and Yunho watches him pull out the key with shaking hands he realizes his actions may have sparked different ideas for Changmin.

“Hey, ugh, Changmin?” he begins, right when the door opens. He makes no move forward to let himself in, and Changmin seems a little surprised by that.

“Yeah?”

“Are we dating?” he asks, unsure and a little scared of the answer because while they’ve been throwing loving smiles and shy glances to each other at work, meeting up a few times for dinner or lunch, and Yunho spends most of his free time thinking about that gorgeous long neck and those beautiful brown eyes, and the way his laugh cuts through the air so wonderfully, they haven’t made anything official.

Changmin blinks at him, then he sets his laundry basket down, and before Yunho knows it he’s being kissed. A whole-hearted kiss with eyes closed, and Changmin cupping his face with both hands, pulling him as close as he can with Yunho still holding his laundry basket at the hip. Yunho wraps his one free arm around Changmin’s waist and marvels in the way Changmin’s lips feel against his own. It’s a first kiss like he’s always wanted. Given it would be a little better if they weren’t in a torn up apartment hallway that smells like cigarettes and alcohol, but it feels like the best kiss Yunho’s gotten.

“Yeah,” Changmin answers when they separate, shaky breath and a half hidden shy smile on his face, “We’re dating.”

Yunho nods, and doesn’t even attempt to hide the giant smile on his face, “I’ll see you tomorrow night then,” he tells him, and Changmin bites his bottom lip.

“Or before that?” he suggests, and he holds out his hand a little shyly. Yunho gets the point and shoves his unlocked phone into the outstretched hand, a little too quick and a little too violent, but Changmin pretends he doesn’t notice.

They’re both silent as he puts his number in, and then he hands it back, much more delicately and nicely than Yunho.

“Call me tomorrow when you wake up,” he suggests, and Yunho nods.

They exchange quiet byes as Changmin finally shuts the door to his apartment, and Yunho isn’t sure why he’s so happy from the staggered progression of this relationship; he just knows he wants Changmin like he’s never wanted anyone before, and he’s willing to stand through a million awkward goodbyes and uncertain hellos if that’s what it takes.

Saturday morning they go to some old café for breakfast. Changmin lets him feed him and Yunho does the same, though Changmin tends to get whip cream all over Yunho’s face and laugh as if it’s the funniest thing in the world a lot more than Yunho does. Changmin walks him home this time, smiling and holding his hand the entire way there.

Yunho kisses him against the apartment’s door, kisses him until he’s making little sounds into his mouth and his fingers are clutching at Yunho’s shirt tight enough to tear. When they break apart they both have to take time catching their breath, and it’s Changmin who seals their lips together again.

This time they kiss with tongue and a little bit of teeth, desperate to taste each other and remember it for the rest of the day. When they break apart again, Changmin looks shy as always, and his eyelashes flutter a bit. He doesn’t meet Yunho’s eyes as he says, “See you tonight,” and Yunho doesn’t invite him in.

\--

That night everything goes as usual, but Yunho’s eyes don’t drift as often to Changmin, except for when he’s leaving to the dressing room to change for the way home. Yunho catches his hand as he’s walking by, pulls him in a little closer, and with uneasy eyes – it’s always harder to talk to Changmin when he’s all done up like this, especially when the eyes usually so confident in that makeup turn nervous with one look up at Yunho – he asks him, “Would you like to come home with me tonight?”

Changmin nods without a word, and Yunho lets his hand go, a small nervous smile on his face.

The makeup’s been sloppily wiped off Changmin’s face when he meets up with Yunho again, some eyeliner is still smudged around his eyes, and his lips still look a little glossy, but other then that he’s bare-faced again and changed into a casual pair of dark jeans with a v-neck and cardigan. Yunho’s never seen him after work, and he wonders how often the other man is too lazy to take off the makeup, maybe always, and tonight he washed it off just because of Yunho. The thought makes him a little giddy, that he would change his routine just for Yunho, but also a little somber that he thinks he might need to change for Yunho.

He takes his hand in his as they begin the walk to Yunho’s apartment. Changmin smiles at him but doesn’t say anything, not even a simple hello.

When they get to the apartment, Changmin kisses him, doesn’t even bother to take a look around before his lips are on Yunho’s. Yunho guides them to the couch and they lounge against each other, kissing lazily until Yunho pulls them apart.

“So this is my apartment,” Yunho tells him, not sure what else to say, and Changmin’s eyes do a quick flicker around the room. They drag a bit at the bowl of his goldfish and seem to try and jump over the ashtrays on the coffee table, and then his eyes meet Yunho’s again and he smiles.

“It’s nice,” he tells him, quiet and soft, and Yunho feels more drawn to him than ever when he speaks like that.

“Yeah,” Yunho grunts out as they sit there in silence, studying each other’s expressions without the usual shyness, and Yunho wonders if it’s from the dim lighting of his apartment or sleep-deprived confidence.

Yunho presses another lazy kiss to Changmin’s lips, and they form a bigger smile at the touch. Changmin presses closer until he’s half in Yunho’s lap. Yunho’s hands push off the flimsy cardigan, and he brushes fingertips over the newly exposed soft skin. Changmin’s fingernails scrape down his neck to barely slip into the back of his shirt.

They fall apart for a second for Changmin to rid Yunho and himself of their shirts, fumbling with the buttons of their jeans when Yunho presses a kiss to his collar bone and stops his hands, “A little slower?” he suggests, and Changmin’s lips purse as he nods, letting Yunho pull him to fully straddle his lap as he sucks and bites small marks onto his pale skin.

Changmin’s small sounds are close to whimpers, and they go straight to his groin, making his pants become tighter and Changmin’s weight on top of him not grinding against him a little unbearable. He thrusts up against him, and Changmin’s nails dig into his shoulders before he grinds his ass down on him.

Yunho lets out a staggered moan, and Changmin lifts himself off a bit so he can unbutton his own jeans, but his hands still at Yunho’s zipper, “Lube? Condoms?” he asks and Yunho gives him vague directions to the bottom drawer of his nightstand.

Changmin’s weight leaves him, and Yunho uses that time to force his jeans and boxers down to the floor, hand going to his cock before he has time to step out of them.

He watches Changmin make his way back to the couch, holding the sought objects casually as he slips himself out of his jeans and underwear right in front of Yunho. He does it in such a sultry way, probably just out of habit, but it still brings a moan past Yunho’s lips. Delicate fingers slip the condom onto Yunho’s length and one of his hands is grabbed and a finger lubed before it’s guided to Changmin’s hole.

Yunho pushes his finger in with his eyes on Changmin’s. There’s a more confident look in them than usual, hazed over but not shy, anything but shy. He grinds himself down on Yunho’s finger, movements causing instant pleasure to his prostate. The moan he lets out fills the whole room, and Yunho’s lips part at the sound. He pushes in another non-lubed finger, and Changmin takes it in greedily. The fingers stretch him wonderfully, but in little mewls he demands more from Yunho, so he obliges.

He covers his cock with lube in a sloppy manner, and Changmin pushes down on him before he’s quite ready. The pleasure from the tight heat brings loud groans from Yunho, and Changmin’s eager to hear more, grinding down on him again and swallowing his noises in a kiss.

They set a rhythm together, and Changmin’s amazing like this. His hips move in a wonderful manner, causing glorious friction on his dick. His thighs slide against Yunho’s as he rides them, and all the skin touching in their position brings his pleasure to new heights.

Changmin grips his shoulders as Yunho grips his waist, guiding him down on his cock as they both get a little restless, and one of Changmin’s hands leaves to tend to his own cock. Yunho holds him tighter by wrapping his arm around his waist instead and helps Changmin out with his free hand, jerking him off fast and needy just like the way Changmin’s riding him.

Changmin comes with a beautiful shout, and Yunho follows soon behind. He slips out of Changmin, but they keep their stance, Changmin’s head laying against Yunho’s shoulder as he catches his breath.

“You’re amazing,” Yunho tells him while he’s still catching his breath, and he’s not sure what the compliment even means, but it makes Changmin let out the beginning of an embarrassed laugh against his shoulder, so it was good for something.

Yunho cleans them up with the tissues beside his goldfish, which are then tossed to the floor as Yunho arranges them on the couch so they’re impossibly close and comfortable enough to sleep. He pulls a thin blanket over them and soon enough he can feel Changmin’s steady breathing against his chest.

\--

Yunho wakes first, and he slides out from under Changmin with extreme care not to wake the other. He pulls on his clothes from the night before and searches around for his pack of cigarettes, glancing at Changmin still asleep on the couch, clutching at nothing with a blanket only covering his lower half before he goes out to the balcony for a smoke, running a hand through his hair and looking over his shoulder to see if Changmin’s woken every once in a while.

When Changmin does wake it’s without Yunho noticing, and he joins him on the balcony fully dressed, they exchange quick smiles before Changmin approaches him. He eyes the cigarette still between his teeth before two fingers snatch it away and put it out on the bannister.  Once it’s dead on the ground Changmin kisses him, a hand in his hair and another against his neck.

They break away, and Changmin looks sheepish and worried, wondering if Yunho will get mad at him for what he did. Yunho kisses his cheek and leads him back inside, wondering how anyone could get mad at someone when they look like that.

Yunho makes himself tea, and Changmin eyes the coffee maker until Yunho tells him the coffee’s in the left most cabinet. He watches Changmin sip the coffee, not meeting Yunho’s gaze while Yunho spends the entire time looking straight at him.

“Your hands are really small,” he points out, and winces when he realizes that sounds a little mean, “I mean… for your height they’re a little small. Smaller than the rest of you. They’re really cute.”

Changmin’s lips twitch into a smile at the compliment, “Thank you,” he mumbles, and Yunho nods.

“They’re really the perfect size,” he continues, “For me to hold them.”

A blush creeps over Changmin’s cheeks at that compliment, and Yunho feels proud.

He makes them both eggs, the only things he really knows how to cook, and soon they’re back on the couch, snuggled up against each other and talking.

Yunho tells him dumb stories about all the shit him and his friends have gotten into, and Changmin tells him about the dumbest and most ridiculous things the guys at the club call him, tells him about the dumbest looking guys he’s danced for, and how annoying it is when they’re wearing sweatpants and obviously no underwear.

It’s easy for him to make Yunho laugh, and the same goes the other way round. When their minds blank of stories and jokes they kiss and snuggle close, nuzzling each other’s necks and exploring each other’s bodies in more innocent ways than the night before.

They don’t work that night, but Changmin still leaves a few hours before his normal shift would start. Yunho walks him home, holding his hand and sticking close just to remind him how well they fit together like this.

Yunho kisses him goodbye at his door, but not before Changmin can purse his lips nervously and request that this relationship not change anything at work. Yunho promises it won’t, and he walks back home lazily, only thinking of Changmin.

It’s pretty easy to stay neutral at work. Yes, he has to watch Changmin dance in front of hungry-eyed customers, flirt and giggle at them and tease them with lap dances and generous views of his ass, but what Yunho has with him is completely different. For one he can actually touch Changmin, and, obvious in the ways Changmin stutters over words and laughs for real, he actually has feelings towards Yunho.

It’s easy for their relationship to stay smooth as well. It’s pretty simple, all kind of uniform. They see each other on Friday doing laundry, eat breakfast together every Saturday morning, fuck any time Changmin comes over and kiss as much as possible.

The only thing that changes it up is when Changmin meets him outside the club one day, when it’s misty and foggy and like something out of a scary movie. Changmin still has his makeup on, and he kisses Yunho the moment he sees him. The lip gloss sticks to Yunho’s lips, and Changmin laughs at him when they pull away.

“Yunho,” he begins, and he snuggles himself into his arms, “Tonight I got my biggest tip since I started working here.”

Yunho makes a muffled sound of, “Okay,” as he’s pressed against Changmin’s lean frame, and Changmin continues.

“And every time that number gets bigger I celebrate. Usually alone. But now I have you so come on.”

He grabs Yunho’s hand and leads him down the street, walking with a little more purpose than usual, head a little higher, and it makes Yunho grin from ear to ear watching him.

“So how exactly do we celebrate?” Yunho asks when they’re a ways away from the club.

“Well,” Changmin begins, and he spins around with a giant smile on his face that distorts his eyes and makes his giant ears more visible than usual, “We get drinks, we drink, I’ll maybe dance for you a little if you want, and then if we’re feeling up to it we’ll fuck.”

Yunho’s mouth parts at the suggestion of getting a little show from Changmin, and right now he’s looking so cute despite the sensual looking makeup that Yunho just wants to kiss him senseless.

So he does, pressing him up against the brick wall of a nearby building and messing his hair by tangling in fingers. Changmin makes a small noise underneath him, and Yunho swallows it up, pushes his tongue past his lips and licks into his mouth. They break apart and Changmin’s out of breath but still smiling, eyes squinted and he lays his head against Yunho’s shoulder.

“Guess you like that idea?” he observes, and Yunho laughs against the top of the head.

“It sounds great.”

They make it to Changmin’s apartment after buying some drinks, Yunho lets his eyes wander around the house he’s never been in and he’s a little shocked to see the inside. There are more than a few book shelves, each full of books and some more books on the floor beside them. There’s a cage next to a desk with a fairly nice computer, something having a blast on a wheel inside of it, and the few pieces of furniture are in okay condition, the couch leather with scratches and maybe a tear or two but still nice and usable with two matching chairs. Despite the loose books everything’s exceptionally clean and organized, and really Changmin does look very at home as he walks to the kitchen and gets out the proper cups for the drinks.

“Make yourself at home,” Changmin tells him as he sets up the coffee table for the drinks, and Yunho relaxes on the couch, watching Changmin set everything up.

“What’s in the cage?” he asks, curiosity overwhelming him to ask.

“Lorenzo, my hedgehog,” Changmin answers, calm and matter-of-fact as if everyone owns a hedgehog with an Italian name, “I call him Lori for short.”

Yunho nods, and takes the drink handed to him, “You have a lot of books,” Yunho comments, and Changmin laughs.

“What? Did you think I lost my interest for literature when I became a stripper?”

Yunho shakes his head, now able to discern between Changmin’s actual accusations and teasing questions.

“Nah they just take up a lot of room,” he tells him, and Changmin’s laugh fills the room once more.

He does end up dancing for him, removing his clothing like a proper stripper until he’s naked except for a skimpy pair of boxer trunks, but soon the drinks get the best of him and instead of dancing he’s just lounging in Yunho’s lap and giggling into his neck.

Yunho’s just as drunk and can’t remember when Changmin stopped his actual dancing, “You know,” he begins, “It’s not even that hard.”

Changmin laughs into his neck, “What?” he asks, “Your dick?”

They both laugh for much too long at Changmin’s sad excuse for a joke before Yunho kisses his neck sloppily and begins again, “Nah I mean your dancing. Stripper dancing. All you guys do is just shake your asses and then grind down on guys’ laps. It’s easy.”

Changmin laughs at him and presses a kiss to his cheek, “Fine then. Prove it. _You_ dance.”

Yunho accepts the challenge with drunken confidence, stumbling to his feet and doing half-assed body rolls in front of Changmin until the younger man is laughing so hard he’s almost falling off the couch.

“You’re actually not too bad,” Changmin admits, and Yunho grins.

“Lap dance time now,” he announces, and Changmin laughs again but Yunho doesn’t let it set him back. He climbs on top of Changmin, and Changmin’s expression changes when he’s over him.

“Hmm,” he begins, “Maybe you’ll be good at this,” he tells him, “You’re such a slut, you can move your hips so well. Work your body so well during sex. Now work your body on top of me.”

Yunho moans at his words, and he begins the sloppy dance. Changmin forgets to remind him there’s no touching and let’s Yunho grind on him till they’re practically rutting, and they both cum with shouts, no direct touching at all.

They collapse into a heap on the couch, Yunho mouthing kisses into Changmin’s neck as Changmin rubs his back gently.

“You know, I really am really, really sorry for calling you two steps away from a prostitute,” Yunho tells him, uncaring of the repetition in his speech.

Changmin nuzzles against his hair, “It’s alright,” he tells him, “I was no steps away once.”

What he says doesn’t quite register in Yunho’s mind yet, so he just laughs, kisses him, and falls asleep slumped over the coffee table to give Changmin the entire room of the couch.

They both wake up in the morning with horrid headaches and fuzzy memories of the night before. Yunho stumbles over to the kitchen to drink as much water as he can. He brings a glass to Changmin who’s still laying on the couch.

“We should pick up,” Yunho tells him as he looks at the empty bottles and glasses littering the floor and coffee table. He wouldn’t give a care if it was his apartment, but Changmin’s was so clean and nice that he feels bad leaving it like this.

Changmin groans and mumbles a quick, “Piss off,” before shoving his face into one of the couch’s pillows and ignoring Yunho completely.

Yunho’s eyebrows raise, and he lets out a breathy chuckle before kissing the top of Changmin’s mop of hair and muttering a quick, “’Course, babe,” before he cleans up as best he can.

He’s placing the dirty glasses in the sink when the conversation from last night plays over in his head. The revealing sentence finally registers, and he nearly drops the bottles he’s holding. He glances back at Changmin still on the couch and resists the urge to go over and confront him about it. It’d probably just lead to a pissed off Changmin that’s actually serious instead of headache and morning-induced.

So he avoids it and walks over to pick the rest of the bottles off the coffee table, noticing in the noon light the ash stains and cigarette burns that litter it. Again he wants to confront Changmin, ask if it’s used or what the markings are from, but instead he pushes it to the back of his mind, convinces himself that of course it’s used, and finishes up cleaning.

He doesn’t bring it up even the next few times they see each other. Not even when Changmin reads to him, only because Yunho requests it – or more accurately demands it – and he sees stains of drinks on his books when Changmin is always so protective of them when they drink at his apartment, and then there’s the cigarette burns and ash stains in almost every book he reads from. And from what Yunho knows Changmin’s never smoked in his life, is practically disgusted by the idea. Maybe the stains and burns are a clue why.

He tries to put it out of his mind completely when Changmin stutters over some epic, trying to read it in the original language, and Yunho can’t understand a word, but he likes to listen anyways. Changmin laughs loud and embarrassed when he stutters a little too much, and he puts the book away to get what he says is his favorite. Which made Yunho laugh at first because it’s a children’s book, but when he takes out the battered copy of _The Little Prince,_ Yunho goes silent so he can hear him read in his beautiful soft voice. This book is the most torn up out of all the ones he owns. Almost every page has at least one cigarette burn on it, some of the pages are taped together, and a few more stick together petulantly, and Changmin struggles with them every time.

Used is out of the question because Changmin tells him in a quiet voice that his mother bought this for him when he was young, and it’s been his favorite book ever since.

Yunho tells him that he loves him when he finishes reading that night, and Changmin’s eyes shake a little and wet with tears before he simply nods and snuggles up to Yunho’s side to go to sleep.

\--

A few nights later they’re both working, a usual Saturday night, crowded and always the most dangerous, but Yunho’s still not had to get into anything to bad. Changmin’s in a room with a guy, a usual customer who comes there often and has taken quite a liking to Changmin.

Yunho always watches a little closer when that man requests a private dance, but this is the first night he’s noticed anything. It’s nothing too big, something most bouncers would let slide, maybe even Yunho, but it was Changmin in there with him. Changmin getting his ass felt up by some creepy middle-aged dude.

He pulls it apart without a second thought. Gives the man the usual gruff statement about no touching and “it’s best if you leave now,” and out of the corner of his eyes he can see Changmin glaring, looking more angry than Yunho’s ever seen him.

“What the fuck was that, Yunho?” he asks when the man’s been escorted out, and Yunho looks away from Changmin’s angry gaze to take a deep breath.

“He was touching you, Changmin. That’s not allowed.”

Changmin looked lost for words to argue with, but he found them quick enough, “He was hardly touching me!” he tells him in a heated whisper, “That man has been coming here for the past two fucking years, giving some of the best fucking tips I receive. If his hand skims my ass then so what, he probably would’ve just given a bigger tip. I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but this is my fucking job. I have to make money. Which is hard when a bouncer is such a hardass with your customers.”

Yunho gapes at him, “I was just doing my fucking job, Changmin. You said you didn’t want our relationship to change anything at work, so it hasn’t. I’m treating you just like I’d treat any other guy here. I’m not going to go easy on your customers because you whine to me!”

Changmin’s glare cuts through the air between them, and Yunho can almost feel it pierce him as he walks away with defiant steps. He’s screwed everything up he realizes when Changmin doesn’t even meet his eyes on his way out.

He doesn’t answer any of his texts or calls on Sunday, so Yunho goes out with friends like he usually would. Avoiding any real answers to questions about “that boyfriend he talked about,” or “your new job with the good looking strippers.” Changmin isn’t at work at Monday and that’s the last thing he’ll wait out.

After work he walks to Changmin’s apartment instead of his own, knocks as much as he has to for the younger man to answer.

The door swings open to reveal a messy looking Changmin, just as sloppily dressed as he usually is at the laundromat if not a bit more.

“What?” he demands curtly, and Yunho sighs.

“You’re making this worse than it needs to be,” Yunho tells him, and Changmin looks away, “We can work this out. I’m not mad at you. I was in the wrong, and I’m sorry for that. I just want you to be safe, Changmin.”

Changmin stares at him and then tears are falling down his cheeks, and Yunho has no idea at what to do.

“You know, fuck you, Yunho,” he tells him, “Why can’t you just let me be angry at you?”

Yunho stares, “So you just want me to let you sulk?” he asks, tone somewhere between surprised and disgust, “Changmin that’s not healthy. You’re already closed up enough as it is, you can’t just ignore solutions to tiny problems like this.”

“Well that’s a problem in itself isn’t it?” Changmin chokes out, “That I’m on this fucking road and I hit one tiny bump and I’m stuck. And then you come around and you hit all these bumps yet you’re fucking fine, you just keep on going as if it’s nothing. It’s not normal. Why aren’t you mad at me? Why isn’t this affecting you as much as it is me? It’s not fucking fair!”

Yunho blinks. Changmin’s shaking but not in the nervous ways he’s seen before, “Well maybe it’s because I’ve realized I _can_ keep going when I hit bumps instead of standing still and beating myself up because I hit one. You’re being immature, Changmin. Just like you’ve immature for not telling me what happened to you to put you in this position. Why you used to sell your fucking body, why there’s cigarette burns on almost everything in your damn apartment when you don’t smoke, and according to you never have. Why you never fuckingsay anything when I tell you I love you!”

Changmin’s tears have stopped by now, and he stares at Yunho with hurt and guilty eyes, “I’m just not ready, Yunho,” he tells him, and Yunho feels bad when he hears how small and quiet his voice is, but it doesn’t soften his expression or stop him from shaking his head.

“Talk to me when you are,” he tells him, and when he leaves he can hear Changmin try and hold back sobs.

\--

They don’t talk for a week, avoiding each other at work and Yunho does laundry on Thursday instead of Friday to avoid the awkwardness of seeing Changmin.

Changmin finally confronts him after work one day, makeup wiped off completely, and looking a little lost at what to say.

“I’m sorry,” he finally mumbles out, “Would you… Would you like to come home with me?”

Yunho nods at his suggestion, and they begin the trek to Changmin’s apartment. About halfway there Changmin turns to him, “Thank you,” he tells him, and Yunho’s confused as hell as to why he’s saying that but he nods, “For making me realize how stupid I was,” he explains, and then a little more shyly adds, “And making me feel safe enough to be angry at you.”

Yunho’s lips part at the last part. He wants to say something comforting, but he has no idea what to say or what exactly he’s comforting Changmin from. Not yet at least, but this is obviously the night when he gets to hear Changmin’s past, and he’s happy as well as terrified at what it might be.

They sit on Changmin’s couch, and Changmin swallows as he tries to begin, starting a few times and then shaking his head, and saying “No, it shouldn’t be told like that.”

Finally he gets something he’s happy with, “So there was this guy. A year younger than you, and he ugh, he’d write poems and short stories, and he’d let me read them. We were almost always at the library, the two of us, and through quiet conversations and mediocre poetry I kind of fell in love. And I thought he was the best. I thought his poems were the greatest things ever written and his stories the most creative,” he pauses, and Yunho can already see his eyes wetting, “So when he told me that he had an apartment further into the city, that he wanted me to come be with him, that he could take care of me, and I could help him with his career, I agreed. I was still in my third year of high school, not even an adult, but I went with him. I told my parents. Argued enough with them and shot them down with enough hurtful words that they gave up on me, they let me go without much trouble. I was almost an adult, and I could make my own decisions, or so that’s what my dad said after a lengthy fight.”

He stops again and glances at Yunho, “I was so fucking stupid, giving up my education like that, giving up my life like that. But that’s what I wanted. And it went fine for about half a year. He treated me wonderfully and his meager day job with a few checks for published poems or sold away song lyrics got us by. But then he started drinking and smoking, and eventually we didn’t have enough. He would get angry at me and call me a freeloader, tell me I needed to do something to make money. I tried to get a job at a store or something, but it never really worked out, and it was never enough money to make him happy. So that’s when he started bringing over friends, get me as drunk as possible or sometimes not drunk at all, and he’d let them sleep with me for some money. If I ever argued he’d threaten to burn my books, throw them away, and sometimes when I really defied him he’d take a lit cigarette bud and press it into my thigh.”

Yunho’s hand covers his as he relays the story; Changmin swallows away tears, “So that went on for a year, until about the time when I should have graduated high school. Then he died. In a car wreck, was driving drunk and slammed into a pole and that was the end of him. I’ve spoken to my parents once or twice since that happened. We’re still not on the best of terms, but they did help me out a bit when things got a little too tough. I did sell myself a few times after that, which was even riskier doing it on my own, but soon enough I found a job as a stripper and I could provide for myself from that.”

Changmin nods when he finishes, “So that’s my story. That’s how I ended up here,” he looks at Yunho, and a few tears finally spill out.

Yunho’s lost at what to say, can only pull Changmin into his arms and press a short kiss to his cheek before dragging him to bed.

\--

Their relationship returns to normal after that, if not a little better from the new openness. Lorenzo takes enough liking to Yunho that he can hold him without the spikes pricking him, and Changmin’s things slowly gravitate towards Yunho’s apartment, and he’s living there in a few months.

They’re walking home from lunch one day when it’s raining, and Changmin kisses him in front of the apartment building, sinking his soaking self into Yunho’s soaking arms as the rain surrounds them. When they break apart Changmin’s staring into Yunho’s eyes like he can find the world in them, and in a very audible voice he tells him, “I love you.”

It’s the dumb romantic movie confession Yunho’s always dreamed of, and he’s never been happier.

 

 


End file.
